APA clarifies new shorefront regulation

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

December 12, 2008

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Sat May 15, 2010, 01:33 AM EDT

RAY BROOK -- The Adirondack Park Agency further defined Thursday its controversial new regulations pertaining to shoreline construction, which take effect Dec. 31.

Camps built within zoning setbacks -- from 50 to 100 feet of the water, depending on the area's land-use classification -- must now all seek variances for major construction.

At their monthly meeting Thursday, APA commissioners set guidance measures for the transition period, specifying precisely what criteria fit application of the "old" rule and where the "new" rule begins.

Until now, camps built before the APA Act went into effect in 1973 did not need an APA variance for "improvements."

The "grandfather" clause encompassed every kind of construction, from converting a 500-square-foot camp into a 10,000-square-foot mansion to adding a 40-square-foot porch.

PUBLIC CONCERNS
Adirondack shorefront property owners with expansion either planned or under way have wondered how the new rule will impact them, their property value or any future improvements to their sites.

The APA has fielded many phone calls from concerned residents since the rule was approved last month.

APA spokesman Keith McKeever said the phones have "been busy."

But he did not indicate the volume was extraordinary.

"We get calls every day about jurisdiction."

Commissioners were careful to clarify that the 18 towns with existing APA-approved zoning in place will find "no disruption" to any shoreline construction.

MINOR EXPANSION
The committee then discussed what defines "minor expansion" on shoreline properties.

It's when the expansion:

Is completely outside the shoreline setback. A variance is still required for any non-conforming wastewater treatment system.

Is built only to the back or toward the "non-shoreline" part of the property.

Does not exceed a total 250 square feet.

Does not raise roof ridge lines more than two feet.

Increases in floor space from increased roof height counts toward the 250-square-foot maximum expansion.

Increases in occupancy, such as adding a bedroom, meaning onsite wastewater treatment systems must comply with zoning setbacks and sanitary codes. Landowners will be required to provide a design report from a licensed engineer.

The final sentence defining "minor" expansion says: "All minor expansions require issuance of jurisdictional variance."

NO FORMAL CHALLENGE
The shoreline regulation has raised concern among county lawyers, who are questioning economic and property-value impact.

A coalition of Adirondack county attorneys claim the added jurisdiction is beyond the scope of what APA commissioners can do and is the purview of the State Legislature.

McKeever said that, as of Thursday, the APA has received no formal request from the counties to reconsider the rule.

The counties also claim the regulation goes too far in trying to control what people can and can't do with waterfront camps owned since before the APA existed.

John MacDonald, representing the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board at Thursday's meeting, asked APA to put rulemaking on the back burner while economic times are tough.

"There's concern among all the counties in the park about this."

Bill Farber, president of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages, said his organization has not become party to any legal action.

Without data showing exactly how many properties still hold pre-1973 exemptions in the park or how many expansion projects are in motion, impacts are going to be difficult to measure, he said.

"I think it's that kind of problem. How do you evaluate what the impact will be when nobody has anything but anecdotal information about the numbers of structures?"

kdedam@pressrepublican.com